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SOLDIERS'  /TRACT  ASSOCIATION)  No.  91. 

Richmond,  Va.  J 


The  Wounded;  or,  A  Time  to  Think. 


"\,r0U  have  bcon  brought  very  near  to  death  ;  you  have 
X  beeu  to  the  very  brink  of  the  eternal  world:  you 
have  seen  deat;  Whom  you  have 

known  have  been   laid  low,,  but  you   hai 
And   '    •  your  duty  as  you  arc  j  «  He 

quietly  on  your  iftal  ?  When  you  were  in  the  hold,  ft  was 
your  duty  to  advance  steadily,  aud  to  fight  boldly;  but 
now,  although  you  can  do  nothing;  for  the  service  of  your 
country,  still  you  need  no.t  be  quite  idle.  That  was  a  time 
to  fight,  this  is  a  time  to  think. 

it  Is  a  time  to  think  of  GoTs  mtrcy  in  tielivcrhr/you. 
If  y  that  there  is  a  God   in    heaven,  who  rules 

over  all  things,  yuu  cannot  think  that  it  was  by  c' 
that  the  ball  which  struck  you,  or  the  sword  or  lance 
which  wounded  yon,  did  not  enter  some  vital  part,  and 
cau3e  your  death.  Such  was  the  case  with  many.  Think 
to  yourself,  "  Why  was  it  not  the  case  with'ine  ?"  It  was 
because  the  Lord  had  mercy  xipon  you.  and  protected 
you*     You   may  say  to   God    with    David,    "Thou   hast 

red* toy  head  in  the  dhy  of  battl 
the  Lord  says,,"  See  now  that  I,  evend,  am  he;  and  tuere 
.  ith  me :   I  kill,  and  I  make  alive ;  I   wound, 
and  I  heal:    neithei  .n  deliver  out  of 

■  and."     Dents,  fhe  Lord  Jesus  Chris; 

tells  us  that   not  a  sparry  the   ground  without 

our  heavenly  Father,  and  that  ;  Iri  of  our  heads 

are  numbered.     M  y  de- 

pend  upon   it,   that   every  ball   or  weapon    struck   only 
i  permitted  it.     Do  not  speak  of  your  escape 
.  '  but  lift  your  heart  ingratitude  to  Him 
U  otinn  providence  pr  ur  wound  from 

_  mortal.     In  mercy  to  your  immortal  soul  he  has 
spared  you,  and  given  you  time  to  think. 


2       The   Wounded;   or,  A   Time  to  Think. 

This  is  a  time  to  thiuk  of  the  past.  Recall  to  yourself 
your  past  life,  ever  since  you  cau  recollect.  Perhaps 
you  may  remember  your  mother  teaching  you  to  pray,  or 
to  repeat  hymns  to  her,  or  some  texts  of  Scripture, 
learned  from  her  or  at  school.  Perhaps  you  may  recol- 
lect, as  a  child,  feeling  afraid  of  offending  the  great  God, 
and  -wishing  to  go  to  heaven  when  you  should  die.  What 
have  become  of  these  thoughts  since? 

This  is  a  time  to  call  to  mind  the  mercies  you  have  Re- 
ceived, and  the  sins  you  have  committed.  Many  bins  com- 
mitted j'ears  ago,  you  may  have  tried  to  put  from  your 
mind,  and  may  almost  have  succeeded  in  forgetting;  but 
they  Ire  as  fresh  in  the  mind  of  God  as  the  first  moment 
that  they  were  done;  and  unless  they  are  forgiven,  they 
will  appear  against  you  at  the  day  of  ijudgment.  Reflect 
on  what  the  Bible»says  of  sin.  '  We  are  there  told  that 
"sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law."  1  John  iii.  4.  By 
this,  you  see  that  sin  is  not  only  an  act  which  may  injure 
your  fellow-creatures,  but  anything  which  i'S  contrary  to 
God's  holy  law ;  and  this  law  takes  notice  not  only  of 
Outward  actions,  but  also  of  the  inward  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  the  heart.  When  you  take  this  view  of  siu, 
how  awful  and  solemn' is  another  declaration  of  God's 
word,  »  The  wages  of  sin  is  death."     Rom.  vi,  'J3. 

Do  you  not  feel  in  looking  back  ou  your  past  life,  that 
you  cannot  stand  before  God's  holy  law,  and  that  you* 
have  been  living  forgetful  of  him?  His  .word*declares 
that  ''The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the 
nations  that  forget  God."  Psalm  ix.  17-  It  teaches  us 
that  man  is  born  in  sin,  and  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  that 
♦'every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  is  only 
evil  continually.'*'  Gen.  vi.  5.  And  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  declares,  "Except  a  man  be  born  again,  lie  cannot 
the  kingdom  of  God,"  John  iii.  o;  that  is,  except' a 
in  wi  receive  ■■■  new  heart.  Thus  is  this  great  obangi 
forth:  "If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creatine: 
old  things  Are  passed  awa-y;  behold,  all  things  are  bo- 
oome  new."     2  Cor.  v.  17. 

.     Reflect  on   these  words,  and   then  ask  yourself  what, 
would  have  become  of  your  soul  had  you  been  amongst 


The   Wounded;   or,  A  Time  to  Think.  .    3 


the  slain.  If  your  copscicnce  tells  you  that  you  are  not 
born  again,  then  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  you 
to  "eutcr  into  (he  kingdom  of  God,"  and  you  would  at 
this  moment  have  been  suffering  God's  just  displeasure. 
Great  has  been  the  mercy  of  God  in  sparing  you  and 
giving  you  time  to  think.  Will  you  not  uow  resolve  to 
make  a  good  use  of  this  time  ? 

This  is  a  time  to  think  »/  the  future.  For  what  pur- 
pose have  I  been  delivere'l  ?  seems  a  natural  and  reason- 
able question  fur  a  man  to  ask,  when  he  h 
through  such  scenes  of  death  as  you  have  witnessed. 
You  have  been  delivered  in  order  that  you  may  now  seek 
the  salvation  of  your  soul;  and  this  salvation  is  freely 
provided  tor  you.- 

Atteud  to  the  gracious  declarations' of  God's  word: 
"As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  the  wicke.d ;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his 
way  and  live :  turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil?  ways  ;  for 
why  will  ye  die?"  Ezekiel  xxxiii.  11.  If  you  have 
looked  honestly  into  yonr  own  heart,  and  at  your  past 
life,  you  must  feel  that  you  deserve  nothing  but  con- 
demnation ;  but  God  offers  you  free  pardon  and  eternal 
life,  through  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ  "This  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  1  Timothy  i.  15. 
"God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life,"  John  iii.  16;  and  Christ  de- 
clares, "Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  John  vi.  C7.  Wi^l  you  not  hearken,  and  come  to 
the  Saviour  with'  the  prayer,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner  ?" 

You  will  find  that  that  prayer  is  never  uttered  in  vain. 
You.are  now  laid  aside  from  fighting  for  your  country, 
but  you  have  a  battle  to  fight  in  your  own  fieart  against 
sin,  and  against  the  devil.  The  etiemies  you  have  met 
in  battle  could  only  kill  the  body :  but  sin  and  Satan  can 
destroy  both  soul  aiid  .body  in  hell.  You  cannot  fight 
against  these  enemies  in  your  strength,  but  God  has  pro- 
mised to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  all  who  ask  him.     Pray 


4       The    Wounded)    or,  Jl   Time,  to  Think. 

for  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  determine,  now  by  his  help  to 
avoid  the  temptations  and  the  evil  company  which  used, 
to  lead  you  into  sin.     Tb>-  b«S  Christ,  who  died 

upon- the  cross  for  you,  jufc'called  in  the  Bible  "the  G 
tain  of  oar. salvation."  *>Vill  you   not  now  enlist  at 
his   banner,  and   become  henceforth    "a  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ?" 

Think  of  the  fut:jr&  heyoild  this  life;  you  have  bee*h. 
preserved  from  deatynowj  but  who  can  tell  for  how  long? 
The  next  time  you  are„in  thef&ee'of  the  enemy,  you 
receive  your  death  wound;    or  you  may  ."-ink  under  dis- 
ease;   but'if  you  now  indeed  become  a  soldier  of  Ji 
Christ,  he  will  give  you  certain  victory  over  the  enemies 
of  your  soul,  and  you  will  be  welcomed'as  a  gh>: 
queror   intq    the  presence  of-4he    King  of  kings.     The 
apostle  Paul  said,  shortly  before  tie  was  going  to  die,  "I 
have  fought  a   good  light,  I   have  finished   my  com 
have  kept  the  faith :   henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  t 
crown  of  righteousness,  which   the  Lord,  the  right 
Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  dsfy:    and   not  to. me  only, 
hut  unto  all  them  also  that  love   his  appearing,"  2  Tim. 
iv.  7,  8 ;    and  Jesus   Christ  declares,   "  Him   that  over*- 
<jometh   will   I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  Cud, 
and  he  shall  go  no  more  out;"    and  '.'To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as 
I. also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his 
throne."     Rev.  iii.  1*2-21.     Think  of  the-'  and 

pray:  "0  Lord,  grant  me  thy  Holy  Spirit,  and  make  me 
now  a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  hereafter  a  partaker  of 
his  eternal  victory,  for  his  name's  sake." 


Soldiers'  Tract  Association,  M.  E.  Church. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


